Parasites and carotenoid-based signal intensity: how general should the relationship be?

Population-Specific Covariation between Immune Function and Color of Nesting Male Threespine Stickleback

Multiple biological processes can generate sexual selection on male visual signals such as color. For example, females may prefer colorful males because those males are more readily detected (perceptual bias), or because male color conveys information about male quality and associated direct or indirect benefits to females. For example, male threespine stickleback often exhibit red throat coloration, which females prefer both because red is more visible in certain environments, and red color is correlated with male immune function and parasite load. However, not all light environments favor red nuptial coloration: more tannin-stained water tends to favor the evolution of a melanic male phenotype. Do such population differences in stickleback male color, driven by divergent light environments, lead to changes in the relationship between color and immunity? Here, we show that, within stickleback populations, multiple components of male color (brightness and hue of four body parts) are correlated with multiple immune variables (ROS production, phagocytosis rates, and lymphocyte:leukocyte ratios). Some of these color-immune associations persist across stickleback populations with very different male color patterns, whereas other color-immune associations are population-specific. Overall, lakes with red males exhibit stronger color-immune covariance while melanic male populations exhibit weak if any color-immune associations. Our finding that color-immunity relationships are labile implies that any evolution of male color traits (e.g., due to female perceptual bias in a given light environment), can alter the utility of color as an indicator of male quality.

What does carotenoid-dependent coloration tell? Plasma carotenoid level signals immunocompetence and oxidative stress state in birds-A meta-analysis

Mechanisms maintaining honesty of sexual signals are far from resolved, limiting our understanding of sexual selection and potential important parts of physiology. Carotenoid pigmented visual signals are among the most extensively studied sexual displays, but evidence regarding hypotheses on how carotenoids ensure signal honesty is mixed. Using a phylogenetically controlled meta-analysis of 357 effect sizes across 88 different species of birds, we tested two prominent hypotheses in the field: that carotenoid-dependent coloration signals i) immunocompetence and/or ii) oxidative stress state. Separate meta-analyses were performed for the relationships of trait coloration and circulating carotenoid level with different measures of immunocompetence and oxidative stress state. For immunocompetence we find that carotenoid levels (r = 0.20) and trait color intensity (r = 0.17) are significantly positively related to PHA response. Additionally we find that carotenoids are significantly positively related to antioxidant capacity (r = 0.10), but not significantly related to oxidative damage (r = -0.02). Thus our analyses provide support for both hypotheses, in that at least for some aspects of immunity and oxidative stress state the predicted correlations were found. Furthermore, we tested for differences in effect size between experimental and observational studies; a larger effect in observational studies would indicate that co-variation might not be causal. However, we detected no significant difference, suggesting that the relationships we found are causal. The overall effect sizes we report are modest and we discuss potential factors contributing to this, including differences between species. We suggest complementary mechanisms maintaining honesty rather than the involvement of carotenoids in immune function and oxidative stress and suggest experiments on how to test these.

Maternal effects mediated by antioxidants and the evolution of carotenoid-based signals in birds

Bright yellow to red signals used in mate choice or intrasexual competition are based on carotenoid pigments that are hypothesized to be traded between physiological functions and coloration. These signals have recently been shown to be influenced by maternal effects. Indeed, yolk-derived carotenoids are essential for embryos to develop efficient carotenoid metabolism in posthatching life. Maternal effects facilitate adaptation to environmental variability and influence the evolution of phenotypic traits such as secondary sexual signals. Here we propose that maternal investment in yolk carotenoids promotes the evolution of carotenoid-based ornaments. We conducted a comparative analysis of lipid-soluble antioxidants (carotenoids and vitamins A and E) in the eggs of 112 species of bird. Species with large clutch sizes deposited higher yolk concentrations of the three antioxidants. There was a significant positive relationship between yolk carotenoids and the expression of male carotenoid-based signals, but not between yolk carotenoids and sexual dichromatism in these signals. These relationships were specific to carotenoids, as they were not found for vitamins A and E. This provides evidence consistent with the hypothesis that maternal effects mediated by yolk carotenoids play a role in the evolution of carotenoid-based signals as a response to sexual selection, likely based on organizational effects of carotenoids during embryo development.

Carotenoid-dependent coloration of male American kestrels predicts ability to reduce parasitic infections

The signaling function of sexually selected traits, such as carotenoid-dependent avian plumage coloration, has received a great deal of recent attention especially with respect to parasitism and immunocompetence. We argue that parasite-mediated models of sexual selection may have an implicit temporal component that many researchers have ignored. For example, previous studies have demonstrated that carotenoid-dependent traits can signal past parasite exposure, current levels of parasitism, or the ability of individuals to manage parasitic infections in the future. We examined repeated measures of carotenoid-dependent skin color and blood parasitism in American kestrels (Falco sparverius) to distinguish whether coloration might signal current parasitism or the potential to deal with infections in the future. We found no evidence that coloration was related to current levels of parasitism in either sex. However, coloration of males significantly predicted their response to parasitism; males with bright orange coloration during prelaying, when mate choice is occurring, were more likely than dull yellow males to reduce their levels of infection by the time incubation began. Coloration during prelaying may advertise a male's health later in the breeding season. For kestrels, the ability to predict future health would be highly beneficial given the male's role in providing food to his mate and offspring. Coloration of females was not a significant predictor of parasitism in the future, and we provide several possible explanations for this result.

Interspecific variation in the use of carotenoid-based coloration in birds: diet, life history and phylogeny

Birds show striking interspecific variation in their use of carotenoid-based coloration. Theory predicts that the use of carotenoids for coloration is closely associated with the availability of carotenoids in the diet but, although this prediction has been supported in single-species studies and those using small numbers of closely related species, there have been no broad-scale quantitative tests of the link between carotenoid coloration and diet. Here we test for such a link using modern comparative methods, a database on 140 families of birds and two alternative avian phylogenies. We show that carotenoid pigmentation is more common in the bare parts (legs, bill and skin) than in plumage, and that yellow coloration is more common than red. We also show that there is no simple, general association between the availability of carotenoids in the diet and the overall use of carotenoid-based coloration. However, when we look at plumage coloration separately from bare part coloration, we find there is a robust and significant association between diet and plumage coloration, but not between diet and bare part coloration. Similarly, when we look at yellow and red plumage colours separately, we find that the association between diet and coloration is typically stronger for red coloration than it is for yellow coloration. Finally, when we build multivariate models to explain variation in each type of carotenoid-based coloration we find that a variety of life history and ecological factors are associated with different aspects of coloration, with dietary carotenoids only being a consistent significant factor in the case of variation in plumage. All of these results remain qualitatively unchanged irrespective of the phylogeny used in the analyses, although in some cases the precise life history and ecological variables included in the multivariate models do vary. Taken together, these results indicate that the predicted link between carotenoid coloration and diet is idiosyncratic rather than general, being strongest with respect to plumage colours and weakest for bare part coloration. We therefore suggest that, although the carotenoid-based bird plumage may a good model for diet-mediated signalling, the use of carotenoids in bare part pigmentation may have a very different functional basis and may be more strongly influenced by genetic and physiological mechanisms, which currently remain relatively understudied.

Ecological, morphological and phylogenetic correlates of interspecific variation in plasma carotenoid concentration in birds

Carotenoids are important as pigments for bright coloration of animals, and as physiologically active compounds with a wide array of health-related benefits. However, the causes of variation in carotenoid acquisition and physiology among species are poorly known. We measured the concentration of carotenoids in the blood of 80 wild bird species differing in diet, body size and the extent of carotenoid-based traits. Preliminary analyses showed that diet significantly explains interspecific variability in plasma carotenoids. However, dietary influences were apparently overridden by phylogenetic relationships among species, which explained most (65%) of this variability. This phylogenetic effect could be due partly to its covariation with diet, but may also be caused by interspecific differences in carotenoid absorption from food to the blood stream, mediated, for example by endothelial carriers or gut parasites. Carotenoid concentrations also decreased with body size (which may be explained by the allometric relationship between ingestion rate and body mass), and correlated positively with the extent of carotenoid-dependent coloration of plumage and bare parts. Therefore, the acquisition of carotenoids from the diet and their use for both health and display functions seem to be constrained by ecological and physiological aspects linked to the phylogeny and size of the species.

Carotenoids, Immunocompetence, and the Information Content of Sexual Colors: An Experimental Test

Many male birds use carotenoid pigments to acquire brilliant colors that advertise their health and condition to prospective mates. The direct means by which the most colorful males achieve superior health has been debated, however. One hypothesis, based on studies of carotenoids as antioxidants in humans and other animals, is that carotenoids directly boost the immune system of colorful birds. We studied the relationship between carotenoid pigments, immune function, and sexual coloration in zebra finches (Taeniopygia guttata), a species in which males incorporate carotenoid pigments into their beak to attract mates. We tested the hypotheses that increased dietary carotenoid intake enhances immunocompetence in male zebra finches and that levels of carotenoids circulating in blood, which also determine beak coloration, directly predict the immune response of individuals. We experimentally supplemented captive finches with two common dietary carotenoid pigments (lutein and zeaxanthin) and measured cell-mediated and humoral immunity a month later. Supplemented males showed elevated blood-carotenoid levels, brighter beak coloration, and increased cell-mediated and humoral immune responses than did controls. Cell-mediated responses were predicted directly by changes in beak color and plasma carotenoid concentration of individual birds. These experimental findings suggest that carotenoid-based color signals in birds may directly signal male health via the immunostimulatory action of ingested and circulated carotenoid pigments.

Carotenoids in eggs and plasma of red-legged partridges: effects of diet and reproductive output

Carotenoids are important dietary constituents in birds. They serve as pigments and play numerous physiological roles in both the laying hen and developing embryo. However, factors determining the absorption of carotenoids and their allocation to different functions are numerous and complex, and causal relationships are generally poorly known. Our objective was to determine the degree to which carotenoid levels in egg yolks and the plasma of hens were influenced by differences in diet and reproductive output in captive red-legged partridges. Carotenoid concentrations were measured by high performance liquid chromatography in two feeds (high and low carotenoid content) and in yolks and plasma of hens near the start and end of laying. Early in the laying season, plasma and yolk carotenoids varied with diet and were correlated with one another. Late in the season, a dietary effect was evident only for yolks, and there was no relationship between plasma and egg levels of individual hens. However, plasma carotenoids at the end of laying were strongly correlated with the number of eggs that had been laid. Dietary availability, although important, could explain some variation in carotenoid levels in plasma and egg yolks only in the context of reproductive history.

Carotenoid concentration in barn swallow eggs is influenced by laying order, maternal infection and paternal ornamentation

Carotenoids are critical to embryonic development, immunity and protection from oxidative stress. Transmission of carotenoids to the eggs may affect development and maturation of immunity in offspring, but carotenoids may be available to females in limiting amounts. Females may thus transfer carotenoids to the eggs differentially in relation to the reproductive value of the offspring as affected by sexual ornamentation of their father. In this study of maternal allocation of carotenoids to the eggs in the barn swallow (Hirundo rustica), females whose immune system had been experimentally challenged with an antigen had smaller lutein concentrations in their eggs than controls. We manipulated the size of a secondary sexual character (tail length) of males, and analysed the effect of manipulation on allocation of lutein to eggs by their vaccinated mates. Contrary to our prediction based on parental allocation theory, mates of tail-shortened males had a larger lutein concentration in their eggs compared with those of control and tail-elongated males. According to previous studies, offspring of short-tailed males have larger exposure and/or susceptibility to parasites. A larger lutein concentration in the eggs of females mated to males with experimentally reduced ornaments may thus reflect adaptive maternal strategies to enhance offspring viability.

Better red than dead: carotenoid-based mouth coloration reveals infection in barn swallow nestlings

Nestling birds solicit food from their parents by displaying their open brightly coloured gapes. Carotenoids affect gape colour, but also play a central role in immunostimulation. Therefore, we hypothesize that, by differentially allocating resources to nestlings with more brightly coloured gapes, parents favour healthy offspring which are able to allocate carotenoids to gape coloration without compromising their immune defence. We demonstrated that, in the barn swallow Hirundo rustica, (i) parents differentially allocate food to nestlings with an experimentally brighter red gape, (ii) nestlings challenged with a novel antigen (sheep red blood cells, SRBCs) have less bright gape colour than their control siblings, (iii) nestlings challenged with SRBCs but also provided with the principal circulating carotenoid (lutein) have more brightly coloured red gapes than their challenged but unsupplemented siblings and (iv) the gape colour of nestlings challenged with SRBCs and provisioned with lutein exceeds that of siblings that were unchallenged. This suggests that parents may favour nestlings with superior health by preferentially feeding offspring with the brightest gapes.

Carotenoid Plasma Concentration, Immune Profile, and Plumage Ornamentation of Male Barn Swallows (Hirundo rustica)

Carotenoids exert immunomodulating, immunostimulating, and antioxidant actions in mammals and are major determinants of coloration in animals. Honest advertisement models of sexual selection propose that male ornaments, including coloration, are reliable indicators of male quality. Because of their simultaneous effects on male coloration and immunity, carotenoids might mediate the hypothesized relationship between the expression of epigamic coloration and parasitism in vertebrates. We analyzed the relationship between immune profile and concentration of lutein, the most abundant carotenoid in the plasma of male barn swallows (Hirundo rustica). Consistent with our predictions, lutein plasma concentration was negatively correlated with gamma-globulin plasma levels and concentration of selected leukocyte types in peripheral blood, suggesting that, to exert immune function, carotenoids are taken up from plasma, thus becoming unavailable for epigamic signaling. The coloration of red feathers of the throat of adult males was positively related to plasma concentration of lutein, but not with immunologic variables, consistent with the idea that more brightly colored males do not pay a larger immunological cost for their coloration compared with less brightly colored males. Length of male tail ornaments, which is currently under directional sexual selection, was positively correlated with lutein plasma levels. In species where carotenoids limit immune function, demands for pigments for sexual signaling might compete with those for immunity, thus generating a mechanism that enforces honesty on the signal.

A tradeoff between immunocompetence and sexual ornamentation in domestic fowl

Females often select their mates on the basis of the size or intensity of sexual ornaments, and it is thought that such traits are reliable indicators of male quality because the costliness of these traits prevents cheating. The immunocompetence handicap hypothesis is a recently proposed mechanistic explanation of these costs and states that males carry ornaments at the expense of their resistance to disease and parasites. The tradeoff between immunocompetence and sexual ornamentation was hypothesized to arise as a consequence of the dual effect of androgens on ornamentation (+) and immune function (-). To test this hypothesis, we compared comb size between male domestic chickens Gallus domesticus of lines divergently selected for antibody responses to sheep erythrocytes (three lines: selected for low response or high response and a control line). The importance of comb size in inter- and intrasexual selection is well established, and comb size is strongly dependent on testosterone level. Comb size was larger in the males of the low line than in the high line, and comb size of control males was intermediate, indicating a tradeoff between ornamentation and immunocompetence. Testosterone (T) levels varied in a similar fashion (TLow > TControl > THigh), suggesting that this hormone could mediate the tradeoff between ornamentation and immunocompetence. These results support the idea that a tradeoff with immune function may constrain the expression of secondary sexual ornaments.

A comparison of spectrophotometry and color charts for evaluating total plasma carotenoids in wild birds

The study of the role of carotenoids on the physiology and evolutionary ecology of birds demands methods for their quantification in the bloodstream. We compared color-chart scores of plasma hue with the actual concentration of plasma carotenoids obtained by spectrophotometry in 356 wild birds from 26 species. Repeatability of chart scores between three independent observers was high. However, color scores did not correlate with the spectrophotometric results in interspecific analyses. Within species (n = 3), one showed no relationship and two showed weak but significant positive correlations. Hemoglobin, and probably other substances, may mask the color of carotenoids, making the accurate use of color charts difficult. Spectrophotometry should be the method of choice as it permits precise quantifications of total plasma carotenoids and objective comparisons among studies.

The Hamilton-Zuk theory and initial test: an examination of some parasitological criticisms

It has been supposed repeatedly that the Hamilton & Zuk paper of 1982 was parasitologically misconceived. These criticisms are shown to be inconsistent or mistaken. Various assumptions deemed unjustifiable by critics were either not made in the original paper, or have been made commonly, reasonably and pragmatically, by parasitologists themselves. The requirement by the theory for pathogenicity is examined, as is the need for the individuals to encounter the relevant parasites. The possible roles of parasite aggregation, parasites other than those directly involved, and costs of resistance, in making sosigonic selection less feasible are put into perspective. The rationale, interpretation and value of the preliminary comparative test with haematozoa are discussed. The advisability of incorporating host age, the location and timing of any sampling for parasites, and the actual ability of successful mates to resist disease is acknowledged. Attention is directed towards several specific observations. (1) It is a little recognised fact that Hamilton and Zuk assessed prevalence-showiness associations within surveys in restricted localities. (2) Many parasitological studies have not properly addressed the need to control for sampling effort when using prevalence data. (3) Contrary to some claims, the notion that haematozoa are sufficiently pathogenic is not unrealistic. (4) That non-resistant as well as resistant individuals might be free of patent or even latent infection at the time of mate choice was one of the possibilities mentioned originally. (5) In 1984, Eshel & Hamilton emphasised that environmental variation (whatever its source) has the potential to make mate selection for heritable characters based on perceptible variation less likely to evolve. (6) Hamilton & Zuk concluded that their findings "hint" that parasitism could be one agitator required for "good genes" sexual selection, a stance which is not immoderate. Lastly, the potential importance in evolutionary biology of parasite-mediated sexual selection as a form of co-evolution is considered briefly.